Recipe: Protein-rich homemade sweet potato & pumpkin soup with moroccan veggie chips

How do you boost the protein content in a veggie soup?

I enriched the soup with protein in 2 ways - and neither was using protein powder! 

Firstly, I added a can of butter beans to the soup before pureeing (you can't even taste them!). 1 can of butter beans contains 23g protein, not to mention 33 grams dietary fibre to also keep satiety at bay and keep you feeling fuller for longer.

The other way I enriched the protein content was by adding light & creamy evaporated milk. With double the protein and calcium of regular skim milk, evaporated milk is a great way to boost the protein and give your soup a nice creamy taste. Just be careful not to boil the soup once the evaporated milk has been added, it doesn't take too nicely to high heat! 1 can contains 30g protein and 900mg calcium. 

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion diced

1 large clove garlic finely diced

1/2 kent pumpkin - peeled & chopped into cubes (keep the skin)

1 medium sweet potato - peeled & chopped into cubes (keep the skin)

Olive oil spray

1 tsp curry powder

2 x 18g sachets miso paste 

1 L water

1 x 400g butter beans or chickpeas

1 x 375mL tin light & creamy evaporated milk

1/4 cup fresh coriander - finely chopped (for soup)

1/4 cup fresh coriander - finely chopped (for chips)

Reduced fat greek yoghurt - 1 dollop per serve 

Method

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius

Soup

Heat olive oil in a large deep pot. Add onion and garlic, cook, stirring until soft and translucent. Add pumpkin, sweet potato and curry powder, stir over heat to coat all vegetables. In a 1L measuring jug place miso paste and fill with water, stirring miso in until dissolved. Pour water into pot over vegetables, stir, bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the pumpkin and sweet potato are soft and almost mushy.

Drain a can of butter beans and place into a large food processor. When soup is ready, remove from the heat and gently pour over beans in the food processor. Place lid on and process for a minute or so, until the soup is smooth and lump free. 

Pour soup back into a large pot and over low heat stir in evaporated milk. Heat gently, but do not boil. Stir in fresh coriander. Serve into bowls with a dollop of greek yoghurt, a sprig of coriander and freshly cracked black pepper. 

Veggie Chips

While soup is simmering, place skins of the pumpkin and sweet potato on a baking paper-lined oven tray skin side up (don't overlap) and spray with olive oil. Place into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned and crispy. Place chips into a bowl and sprinkle with fresh coriander and a little moroccan seasoning. Serve immediately while crispy & hot!